KJZZ News

They will be the first crew to sail in a ship named for a living woman in more than a 100 years. “This is an incredible honor," Giffords told the crowd. "The USS Gabrielle Giffords is strong and tough just like her crew."

Members of the medical and hacker communities are raising concerns about cybersecurity vulnerabilities affecting medical records, infrastructure and devices. Ransomware like the WannaCry virus – which shut down at least 16 hospitals in Great Britain, and which experts say could spread to devices – has taken those concerns from serious to critical.

As more companies open warehouse and distribution centers in the West Valley, more trucks are hitting the roads. And that’s creating concerns about congestion. The American Transportation Research Institute says highway congestion cost the trucking industry more than $63 billion in 2015.

Phoenix taxpayers could cover millions in new infrastructure costs to help Arizona State University develop its Health Solutions Innovation Center. It’s part of an agreement between the city, ASU and Mayo Clinic to create the Arizona Biomedical Corridor. The area is along Loop 101 from 56th to 64th streets. That’s where Mayo Clinic has a 7-story hospital and where ASU wants to build its $75 million center.

Have you ever tried to listen to a piece of classical music without distractions? I mean really listen? And not think about what you have to pick up at the grocery store later or what’s coming up on your calendar at work?

When the Affordable Care Act was first enacted, 20 states chose not to expand medicaid coverage. But there are pros to Medicaid expansion: the promises of a lower uninsured rate, along with compensation for states and hospitals for at least some of uninsured care, which is why those watching health-care policy have their eyes on Nevada.

On Sunday night, the 71st annual Tony Awards will honor the best of Broadway — the actors and actresses, the plays and musicals. To preview what we need to know about the Tonys, we spoke with Peter Marks, chief theater critic for The Washington Post.

Some Muslim women were telling Lara Whitehead, owner of SWIMKids, that they simply don’t swim at all in public pools because they don’t feel comfortable doing so in their full-body suits. So Whitehead set aside a day and time for them to swim here privately.

On Saturday, a far-right group called ACT for America is planning to hold anti-Muslim rallies across the country. In response, the Ahmadiyya Muslim community is holding more than 100 open houses called “Coffee, Cake and True Islam.”

The U.S. Department of Labor announced this week that it will aggressively pursue employers abusing workers and worker-visa programs after an Arizona farm was accused of housing its workers in “inhumane” living conditions. Laura Gomez with The Arizona Republic has been covering this story.

The growing threat of hacking in the medical profession is the focus of “Fighting Hackers: Health Care’s Newest Threat” a two-day conference taking place at the University of Arizona College of Medicine’s Phoenix campus. Taking part in the conference is Dr. Andrew Muth, Clinical and Informatics Fellow at the University of Arizona, who joins us.

Former presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s invitation-only Experts and Enthusiasts Summit is underway this weekend. Current Republican officeholders like Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham and House Speaker Paul Ryan will attend. And former Vice President Joe Biden will be a rare Democrat who takes part.

It’s time for our Friday NewsCap. On our NewsCap segment, we talked about Comey, Sen. John McCain, the opioid epidemic in Arizona and more. Our guests were former Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman and attorney and commentator James Goodnow.

A stretch of highway between Flagstaff and Grand Canyon National Park’s South Rim is closed because of a wildfire burning north of the city. The Arizona Department of Transportation has not said yet when the popular roadway will reopen.

For questions or comments about this website, please contact the KJZZ webmaster. For general comments or questions see the Contact KJZZ page for a listing of contacts by topic. Please note: Station policy mandates that listeners who win on-air giveaways on this station are not eligible to win again for 30 days.

Email regarding NPR's coverage, ethics, and funding can be sent to the NPR Ombudsman, who maintains an informative web page. For comments or concerns regarding NPR programs, listeners with a general inquiry, visit NPR's contact form.